A coulple months back I met Erika Larsen. I knew and respected her work before our acquaintance, so it was great to meet the person behind the camera. I always find it interesting to meet the picture maker because it opens a whole new realm of understanding the images. It’s like I can visualize them behind the camera, them seeing their subjects and the subjects seeing them.
I had already seen her Sami series and found the work stunning but when I found out that Erika had spent 4 years in the Arctic circle of northern Scandinavia, learning the native language and working, along with producing this body of work, I had a new respect for the photographs, the project and the photographer. I quickly understood why there was such an openness from her subjects and a sensitivity that could be felt through out the work.
When we met, Erika had a book maquette of the Sami project. Now she is very close to having the book exist. If you go over to emphas.is you can secure one for yourself before it even gets to the stores. I’m excitedly awaiting my own copy.